Commission discussing park funding

No money to include restroom in new downtown park this year

Royal Oak officials are exploring how they will fund a restroom for a new Centennial Commons downtown park expected to be fully constructed by the end of October.

City Commissioners on Monday night discussed funding allocations for the park — a key feature of the $60 million Royal Oak Civic Center project that started several years ago. The city’s new parking deck, city hall and police station are already completed and a privately developed Henry Ford Health System outpatient building is near completion.

Commissioners voted Monday to fund about $698,000 for a popup jet area where water sprays in the air for children to play in.

But it is unclear when and where a restroom will be built, or how much the city will pay to construct it.

The park is to be built on 2.2 acres of land once the old city hall and police station are demolished in the coming months.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority is paying for the lion’s share of the park, now expected to cost roughly $5.4 million, much higher than originally expected.

City officials said additional costs came into play because of delays caused by lawsuits against the Civic Center Project and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A single unisex restroom for the park to be built at a cost of about $288,000 was deemed too expensive for the park’s budget.

But several city commissioners voiced disappointment with the lack of a restroom at the park and how costs for the project escalated.

“I feel pretty frustrated about this,” said Commissioner Melanie Macey. “This is a huge (cost) overrun and we can’t” have amenities many wanted.

Further, Macey raised the issue of where children will go to use a restroom if there isn’t one at the park.

“The library is concerned there’s going to be a stream of wet kids going into the library” to use the restroom there, she said.

Commissioner Brandon Kolo noted spending more than $250,000 for a single-stall restroom seemed excessive.

“You could build a house with five toilets in it for about that cost,” he said, adding he is in favor of adding a restroom to the park “if it’s a three-seasons room or something.”

Features for the park were based on public surveys and overseen by the Downtown Park Task Force, headed by City Commissioner Patrician Paruch.

“A restroom was important to the public as well as the task force,” she said.

Highlights of the park include green space with a glade and slightly sloping hill, the water feature, canopies with cafe tables and chairs on the library terrace, a small stage, an oak grove and color garden, concrete chess tables, lighting and a butterfly garden and nature play area for children.

“The library terrace is kind of the smoking gun,” Paruch said. “That really had an impact on the cost.”

City Manager Paul Brake has suggested building a more adequate restroom near the Farmers Market, which is across Troy Street from the park. Fundraising or public-private partnerships may be explored as a way to pay for a restroom, regardless of where it is finally located, he said.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t get everything we designed for,” said City Commissioner Kyle DuBuc before the commission voted to fund the water jet feature. “The restroom was a niceto-have, not a must-have (amenity) ... The water feature is kind of the gem of the project.”